Tangled up in you
by Storybelle
Summary: Complete rewrite. Naruto turns up to a new school with a dark past he's desperate to hide. Sasuke is determined to get himself as tangled up in Naruto as physically possible though this could prove dangerous when Naruto's previous life just won't let go.
1. Famous last words

There was a blonde kicking the coke machine.

It was kind of an insignificant detail. People all over the place kick machines when they fail to work.

Bu the problem with this blonde was that Sasuke was intrigued by him.

A mad blonde kicking the coke machine and cursing.

His bright blonde hair was wild and uncontrollable, either naturally like that or its owner just could not be asked to brush it. The long bangs softened his already slightly feminine face and the rest was an untamed mane of gold. He wore a black t-shirt that was _slightly_ too small for him and jeans that were _slightly_ too big for him and balanced precariously on one tanned hip.

And despite the racket he was making kicking the coke machine no one seemed to have noticed him.

Sasuke leant forward in his seat slightly. He couldn't see the boy's face but had no doubts that it was as messy and unsophisticated as the rest of him. As the blonde switched to smacking it with his hand the dark t-shirt hitched up: there was a mark or something on his stomach, like a tattoo. However the material slid down again before Sasuke could get a closer look.

Damn. Sasuke leant back with a scowl. There was nothing particularly special about him. He seemed no different from the dozens of other teenagers here. So what was it?

There was another vicious slam as the boy kicked the machine again. The jeans slid a fraction lower and Sasuke's eyes followed them down the slender, tanned body.

This was getting really frustrating. Sasuke forced himself to look away.

Ino was at a table by the fountain with Sakura, eating salads and arguing. Ino's high pony tail swished back and forth as she shook her head while Sakura gestured wildly, her own long hair, tumbling down her back, held off her face with red clips. They both wore the Sandaime Grammar school uniform with varying length of skirts and ties slack knotted.

The table near where the blonde was standing, muttering to himself was where Shikamaru, Chouji and Kiba sat. Shikamaru was asleep on the table, Kiba was tipping back his chair and laughing while Chouji listened and sneakily stole his chips.

"What are you looking at?" Neji interrupted Sasuke's musing and put the coffee he'd gone to get down on the table. Sasuke shrugged, not willing to tell Neji anything he'd been thinking: thoughts of the blonde especially. Neji raised an eyebrow.

"Whatever," Neji replied in a bored voice. Sasuke sipped his own coffee and tilted his chair back slightly. There was a silence while both boys mused over their drinks before Neji leant forward on one elbow with a gleam in his eye.

"By the way who was that blonde guy you were watching earlier?" Neji suddenly asked and it took every ounce of Sasuke's self control not to spit his coffee out in shock. Instead he swallowed and gave Neji a blank look.

"What guy?" Sasuke drawled, letting his eyes slide casually back to where the blonde was...not. Sasuke's fingers tightened around the cup. Where was he?

Neji's smirk increased. "Blonde. Male. Good looking. Jeans. Standing by the coke machine. You were staring. _Drooling_. Well?"

"Complete stranger," Sasuke answered and then sulkily added "I was _not_ drooling."

"Li-ar," Neji singsonged. Sasuke just shrugged.

"I wasn't. He's just kind of...interesting." Neji snickered, a crude sound that somehow sounded wrong on him.

"Ok, whatever you say. By the way your 'complete stranger' is over there talking to Sakura.' Sasuke nearly got whiplash he turned around so fast and ignored Neji's laughter as he drank in the blonde stranger.

Sure enough the blonde was standing by Sakura's chair, shifting from foot to foot, one hand in his pocket, the other nervously mussing his hair. He'd hitched the jeans back into place Sasuke noted regretfully. And he also was aware that the boy's t-shirt was almost too tight and showed off his chest perfectly (this _must_ have been intentional on the blonde's part.) He was playing with that wild golden mess, running his fingers through it and it made Sasuke shiver.

Not to mention his face was as nice as his arse. Bright blue eyes, wide grin, cheekbones and – Sasuke squinted – marks on his cheeks, only just noticeable.

He was asking Sakura something and by the wild hand gestures she was making it seemed to be directions. When Sakura got stuck Ino leaned over and helped out, clearly vying for his attention.

"Sasuke? You're drooling again," Neji helpfully pointed out and then yelped when Sasuke kicked him.

The boy grinned once more and thanked the girls before walking away in the direction Sakura had pointed out. Neji made the mistake of snorting again and got another bruise on his shin for his efforts while Sasuke didn't even turn his head. The blonde was walking away and that was a sight to see. So relaxed, so graceful and the jeans slid down a little with every tantalising sway of his hips.

"You're not gonna go after him?" Neji asked curiously, unused to seeing Sasuke eye up anyone like a piece of meat. Sasuke snapped himself out of it and shook his head.

"Yeah, propositioned by a stranger in a cafe? And a same sex one at that? Like he wouldn't kick my ass," Sasuke replied grumpily.

"Or throw you onto a table and..." Sasuke cut off Neji's sentence with a wave of a hand.

"Thank you but I'd rather you didn't finish that sentence," Sasuke griped. "Like it matters. People eye up strangers in public all the time."

"Not you," Neji muttered. Sasuke stayed silent, knowing not to protest this as it was quite true.

"Still," Neji continued. "I don't blame you. He in particular was..." Neji trailed off, as both boys filled in the blanks with varying degrees of crassness, replaying the blonde's exit in their minds. Finally Sasuke shrugged.

"Whatever. Like it matters." Neji raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? So if you saw him again, that'd be it? He's hot and you'll just...walk away although you seeing him again is about as likely as pigs flying or Shikamaru waking up anytime soon?" They both simultaneously looked at the sleeping genius and when he didn't stir Neji grinned at Sasuke.

"So? Would you?" When Sasuke stayed speechless Neji spoke again. "Like you're his type anyway." Sasuke looked up, eyes blazing.

"Oh? And you're so sure you're everyone's type?" Sasuke was seething underneath though the blonde was just a stranger...just nobody, right?

Neji only smiled infuriatingly and there was an uneasy peace again. Sasuke lazily drew patterns in a pile of split sugar on the table.

"It's a big city. And even if I did see him again I wouldn't do anything. I'm not _that_ interested."

These, boys and girls, are known as 'famous last words.'


	2. Cause you're gonna be mine

The sound of Sasuke's shoes on the floor were the only sound in the empty hall. All of the doors along the hallways were closed and although Sasuke was late he didn't bother to hurry. His teacher was notorious for never showing up on time and Sasuke was not in the mood to get hot and sweaty unnecessarily.

Brushing back a strand of stray hair he pushed open the door to his form room and the chattering dimmed slightly as the class took in the late arrival before turning back to their conversations. Kakashi looked up from his book and smiled.

"Good morning, Sasuke. Any reason why you're late or is the black aura floating around your head just extra heavy this morning?" Sasuke scowled, wanting nothing more than to slink into his seat at the back of the room and hide until first period.

"Does it matter? Go back to your porn, Kakashi," he replied in the coldest voice he could muster when he was this tired. Any other teacher would have given him detention on the spot but it was known that Kakashi had a soft spot for Sasuke so the one visible eye creased into a smile. The book in his hands still lay open onto a page full of things that would make a playboy bunny blush. Sasuke let his eyes wander with distaste over the mess that was Kakashi's desk, infamous for late paperwork, coffee stains and similar orange books.

Sasuke strolled to his seat, barely looking at his classmates along the way. Sakura and Ino had the same, matching high ponytail. Before he could get to his seat Kakashi stopped him.

"Sasuke? I know that even if you're incredibly eager for a new school day to start, don't you think it would be polite to say hello to our new transfer student?" Sasuke almost committed suicide there and then. Praying it wasn't a girl he turned on the spot and snarled "Where?" Kakashi lazily raised the hand not holding his book and pointed at someone to Sasuke's right. Sasuke reluctantly turned to look at this stranger...

...and met blue-eyed oblivion.

XxXxXx

"Naruto? Are you awake?" Naruto muttered something that was impossible to hear because his head was under his pillow.

"Naruto? Are you getting up? It's seven thirty!" Seven thirty rang bells in the back of Naruto's mind but most of Naruto went 'TOO EARLY!' and went back to sleep.

Iruka resorted to banging on the door. "Naruto! Don't make me come in there!" Naruto groaned slightly but stayed where he was and pressed the pillow more firmly over his ears.

"Do you want to be late for your first day of school?"

First day? First day, first day.

Oh God. First day.

First day!

Naruto sat upright, causing his pillow and duvet to fall on the floor which he would later trip on.

"I'm up!" he shrieked randomly at the door while tugging his pyjamas off.

"Shit," he cursed, wondering why his alarm hadn't gone off. His phone didn't light up when he stabbed at the buttons. Out of battery.

"Shit!" Naruto yelled again and began grabbing for his clothes. Boxers, trousers, white shirt, blue and gold tie, jumper and blazer that were all part of the Sandaime Grammar school uniform.

"Naruto! Don't forget to eat breakfast!"

"Sure!" Naruto hollered, hopping on one leg, struggling with his trousers.

"Fuck it, fuck it, fuck it," he chanted and finally got them on. Fully dressed – whoops, forgot the tie – Naruto grabbed his bag and hurriedly checked everything was in it.

"Naruto, we've got ten minutes before we have to go!" Naruto didn't reply just swore under his breath and went to clean his teeth and fight with his hair. Iruka stuck his head around the door while Naruto was spitting in the sink and helpfully chirped "Socks."

Something in the house must eat socks, Naruto concurred.

"Naruto!"

"I can't find any socks!" Naruto yelled.

"You should put them in the wash basket sometime," Iruka muttered before opening the airing cupboard. "Did you even look in here?"

"Of course I did!" Naruto said indignantly. "Do you think I'm stupid or...oh." Iruka had found a pair of distinctive orange socks on top of the boiler.

"Observant as a bat," Iruka complained. "Get in the car."

A few minutes later, Naruto sat in the passenger seat, heart in his throat.

"Nervous?"

"No," Naruto totally lied, rubbing his hands on his trousers. If Iruka saw it or heard the tremor in his voice he didn't comment.

"Try not to get into trouble at this one, alright?" and Naruto groaned.

"You just had to sneak one last warning in, didn't you? Iruka, I told you. It'll be fine. I'm not like that anymore, ok? Totally straight and narrow." Iruka shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

"About the 'straight' thing..." This time Naruto put his head in his hands and shrieked.

"Once again: no more fights. No more skipping school. And definitely no more being a whore. Slut. Whatever. I'm done with the rebellion thing, honest. I just...wanna be normal this time, ok? For the short time I've got left of school anyway," he finished darkly.

"This is just a good chance, you understand, don't you? You're a good kid really, you just fell in with the wrong crowd and..." Naruto let Iruka start a speech he'd heard about fifty times before and settled into uneasy daydreams.

Sandaime Grammar school. It sounded stuck up and pretentious but Iruka worked there so it was easier for him to go there. That translated as so Iruka could keep an eye on him. Naruto sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. Admittedly it was his fault that they'd had to move and totally start over.

But this was it. No more fights. No more trouble. No more boys.

Well, Naruto thought with a smirk. That one wasn't going to be easy if any of the ones he'd seen in the town centre on Friday were any indication of what guys looked like in this city.

But, he thought distantly as Iruka moved onto '_maybe I didn't raise you right_,' if there was just the one boy...having a boyfriend might be nice instead of the endless stream of pretty things he'd had last year. That was how people did it: they met someone, fell in love and sometimes there was a happy ending and sometimes there was not.

Either way Naruto wanted it.

Naruto also wanted...no, that was stupid. Fixating on a stranger you saw briefly in a cafe was stupid.

Wasn't it?

X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X

The headmistress was terrifying. Naruto stifled the urge to hide behind Iruka.

"Well, your record isn't the best," she continued, fixing her eyes sternly on Naruto. "Actually it's...appalling. But I've known Iruka a long time and as it seems you've straightened up your act we'll keep an open mind and give you a second chance. Second _only_. Nothing after that. I presume you've read the guidelines and school rules? Excellent." Iruka touched Naruto's shoulder, clearly relieved. Immediately after that though, came the pinch like squeeze that was obviously 'mess this up and I'll kill you.'

"Anyway," Tsunade continued briskly. "Here is your timetable. We've guessed the levels of the core subjects we think you'd be suited to with Iruka's help but if you need moving up or down we can fix that easily. But you seem bright and I'm sure you'll fit in well. Welcome to the school, Naruto." Naruto took her hand and got the shock of his life when he saw her smiling warmly at him. He grinned back, feeling relaxed for the first time in days.

"Now Iruka has to take his form for registration but I'll get someone to take you to your form room and introduce you," Tsunade said, ushering them out. "Oh, speak of the devil. Kakashi, this is your new student, he's in your form. Could you please...? Oh thank you. Shizune! I want coffee!" And with that the door slammed shut.

_Ok. So, the headmistress is psycho. Not what I expected for a snobby school,_ Naruto thought, half amused and half scared.

Iruka bent to whisper into Naruto's ear. "I'll see you after school. And remember..."

"Behave," Naruto droned like he's heard it too many times before. "I will. It's gonna be fine." With a doubtful look Iruka left at the same time a frantic, pretty dark haired woman rushed past.

"So, Naruto, huh?" Naruto eyed his new teacher suspiciously. Orange book... - he recognised that cover, this was not good... - wild hair, a mask over most of his face and a precarious stack of books topped by a Starbucks cup.

This did not look promising.

Naruto followed Kakashi through the halls, ignoring the stares of people checking out the new kid. He paid careful attention to the route they took from the lobby to his classroom. When they got there, Kakashi took a swig of his coffee and shoved the door open.

"Sit, miscreants. Ok, this is Naruto...oh, Uzumaki. He's joining our class from today. Now where could you sit...?" Kakashi wondered, looking around for an empty seat.

"There's one here!" a boy raised his hand and pointed to the chair beside him.

"Well, easily solved. So, welcome, Naruto. Uh, register..." Kakashi searched through the piles of books and papers on his desk for the register while the class burst into gentle chatter.

"Woah, transfer student," the boy crowed as Naruto wove between the tables to reach the three boys.

"He means hi," a boy to the right of him lazily explained.

The first boy grinned widely. He wore the uniform like everyone else except it was scruffier and he was missing a tie. His brown hair was as messy as Naruto's which made Naruto feel easier about not having time to properly tame his this morning.

"I'm Kiba," the boy said as Naruto took his seat. "This is Shikamaru..." This was the half asleep brunette next to Kiba. "And Chouji." The final member of their group was next to Shikamaru and waved at Naruto. Naruto smiled back and tried to relax.

"So why did you transfer?" And Naruto tensed up. "Parents get a new job or something?"

"I...uh. Yeah," Naruto fibbed and felt bad for it. What was he supposed to say? _Actually it was all my fault cause of a bunch of shit I did?_

He didn't want to get pummelled at _this _school, thank you.

"Bummer," Kiba sympathised. "Didn't it suck? You know moving school and leaving your friends?"

_Well, I never actually showed up to school and my friends weren't really friends, just the people who _didn't_ beat my head in._

"Nah," Naruto shrugged. "It's not really a big deal. School's school and you can make new friends."

"Found it!" Kakashi said triumphantly. "Pipe down children, we need to see who couldn't be asked to show up today. Chouji?"

"Here."

Kiba was making a paper airplane and seeing Naruto's look he pointed at a pretty girl with long blonde hair tumbling over her shoulders, held back by a barrette. With a jolt Naruto realized he knew her: she was one of the girls he'd asked directions from on Friday. What were the chances? It wasn't the person he was looking for though...

"Sasuke?" Kakashi looked up as there was silence. "Sasuke? Has anybody seen him? Well, he's not usually absent so I'll wait in case he's late. Naruto? Sorry, couldn't resist, I know you're here. Ino?"

"Here," the blonde drawled and as she leaned back Naruto spotted the other pretty girl sitting next to her. Clearly that particular cafe was a popular spot for this school.

It also meant that finding _him_ could be easier than Naruto thought.

Ino shrieked suddenly as the airplane hit dead centre.

"She's going to kill you for that," Shikamaru commented sleepily while Naruto laughed. Under the noise of the classroom Naruto vaguely registered the sound of the door being open and shut.

"Good morning, Sasuke. Any reason why you're late or is the black aura floating around your head just extra heavy this morning?"

Kiba tipped his chair back. "Oh, look who's here," he mocked and Naruto made the mistake of looking.

It was him. It should have been impossible but it really was the brunette who's been watching Naruto on Friday.

"Does it matter? Go back to your porn, Kakashi," he – Sasuke – said silkily, almost looking bored with the proceedings. Kakashi smiled and dismissed Sasuke with a wave of his hand.

He was a little taller than Naruto and fairly slender too. A backpack hung off his shoulder, tie crooked, hands in pockets. He had dark shadows under his eyes from not sleeping and the hair of someone who had hurriedly gotten out of bed that morning. The bangs framed his face, just grazing his chin and the rest stuck all over the place naturally. He was pale and thin with dark eyes and dark hair and the expression of some bastard with a stick up his ass.

So not Naruto's type at all.

And yet Naruto couldn't look away.

"Sasuke? I know that even if you're incredibly eager for a new school day to start, don't you think it would be polite to say hello to our new transfer student?" Sasuke stopped, right next to Naruto's seat, so close he could almost smell the musky scent coming off of the raven-haired boy.

"Where?" Sasuke said in a low, husky voice. Naruto's heart beat faster, realising that Sasuke would look at him in only a few seconds away. There was a pause in which Kakashi pointed at Naruto. There was another heartbeat and Sasuke slowly turned his beautiful face and stared right at Naruto.

There was another silence while the two eyed each other up. Something flickered across Sasuke's eyes briefly before it vanished behind the mask again. Sasuke hitched his bag up, aware the entire class was watching and said calmly "Hi."

Naruto grinned broadly, triumphant, giddy and slightly horny and replied "Hi. I'm Naruto Uzumaki." Sasuke nodded, held his gaze for a few seconds longer before turning away. Naruto slumped back into his seat, feeling drained, feeling certain this was fate. He'd never believed in it before and he sure as hell knew he didn't deserve it if so but he was not going to question the Power that be.

"Why are you grinning like an idiot?" Shikamaru asked without even opening his eyes oddly. Naruto didn't even hide his smile when Chouji and Kiba turned to look at him.

"Nothing," Naruto replied innocently and Kiba began making another airplane to lob at Ino and Chouji pulled out a packet of Skittles.

Naruto grinned at his luck and in the back Sasuke took back his words and made a vow.

_Cause you're gonna be mine._


	3. Fading labels

"So, Naruto," Shikamaru asked. "First day so far?" Naruto grinned.

"Pretty damn awesome," he said, his head not only full of Sasuke.

"Of course it was!" Kiba yelled. "You met us." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "He's going to get himself killed," he said but didn't get up to do anything about it.

"Kiba! Try not to get your brains spread out all over the concrete, kay?" Naruto called.

"Though with the few that he has I doubt it would make much of a mess," Shikamaru quipped and from the edge of the roof Kiba gave him the finger.

"Anyway, see anyone you like?" Naruto smirked.

"I expected that question from Kiba, not you," he teased and Chouji and Kiba both laughed. Shikamaru propped himself up.

"Be glad it came from me, blondie, cause if Kiba had asked it your ears would burn."

Kiba finally quit fooling around and came and sat next to them, completing their square.

"It's not that bad. I'd only ask who Naruto wanted to f..." And Chouji threw a crisp at him.

"That's what I'm talking about, trailer trash," Shikamaru said, stretching like a cat in the sun.

"Trailer trash?" Kiba yelped.

"Anyway," interrupted Chouji, used to mediating Shikamaru and Kiba's fights. "Is there any girls you like, Naruto?"

"Sasuke and Ino are cool," Naruto said, although he fully knew what they meant.

"Be serious. Though you wouldn't be the first to fall for Sakura," Kiba said, making himself comfortable.

"No. No _girls_ anyway," Naruto said and then snickered at their expressions.

"I'm gay, guys, so don't expect to talk about girls with me." Kiba studied him.

"Huh. Wouldn't have guessed." Shikamaru hit him.

"I could see the stereotypes going through your head just then," Shikamaru told him and Kiba grinned sheepishly. Naruto laughed.

"Ok, so any guys you like then?" Kiba picked up their conversation again.

"Maybe," Naruto said carefully. "How can you tell after one day?"

"Was that a yes?"

"It was a maybe!" Naruto shot back.

"Which is a yes?"

"Maybe does not mean yes!"

"Yeah but maybe is a yes in denial."

"That's such bullshit! It was a maybe!"

"So was it a...."

"Both of you, _shut up_," Shikamaru groaned.

X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X

"What's up, Sasuke?" Sasuke shifted uneasily in his seat.

"It's nothing." Neji narrowed his eyes at Sasuke over his lunch.

"There's silence, Sasuke, and there's 'I'm deliberately hiding something' silences. Spill."

"Nothing. Really. It's Monday, that's all."

"Oh, yeah you have to go see her, right? You're sixteen now, do you have to keep going to see her?" Sasuke traced the graffiti on the table with his fingers.

"I have to as long as they think I need to. Apparently I have 'abandonment issues.'" Neji snorted.

"Well, your parents left to work in other countries and leaving you in the care of your psycho brother. Yeah, I think that entitles you to abandonment. But still, you waste two hours a week in there with her. Don't you hate it?" Sasuke shrugged, still looking at the hearts engraved into the wood.

"I don't know. I got used to it, I guess," Sasuke mused. Neji chewed and swallowed.

"I think I'd hate it," Neji said. Sasuke stopped listening and thought back to this morning when he'd almost swallowed his tongue, seeing the vibrant blonde in front of him. His hair had more gold in it than Sasuke remembered, his eyes were bluer up close and the faint marks on his cheeks were clear now that he was closer: three each side, like whiskers.

Sasuke was sure he had given it away, made it obvious for a few seconds that he knew the blonde - Naruto – before hiding it away again. Naruto had not needed to go through the same process. He had seen Sasuke before he had seen Naruto.

But if they'd seen each other at the same time would Naruto have had the same expression? Shock, relief, happiness?

"Sasuke? What did I just say?" Sasuke tried to replay what Neji had just said in his head but all he got was 'Hi. I'm Naruto Uzumaki' and the infectious grin.

Fuck!

"I don't know..." Sasuke admitted and Neji groaned.

"Come on, what the hell is wrong with you today? And don't say it's because you have to go see Mitarashi," Neji warned and then stopped. "Jesus Christ..." And Sasuke turned his head to see what he was looking at.

Double fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Naruto was walking across the courtyard. Sasuke had been sure he'd be safe because he'd seen Naruto and his new friends escaping up to the roof at the start of lunch: therefore putting off telling Neji about Naruto for a little while at least.

Sasuke did not want competition.

Naruto was laughing at something Kiba had said. His hair glinted in the bright light and the uniform suited him, blazer undone, hands in pockets, tie loose. It just further reminded Sasuke of his unreasonable, unexplained lust for the blonde.

"He's here?" Neji breathed in disbelief.

"Yeah," Sasuke said grumpily. "He was put in my class today." Neji's eyes widened with accusation.

"You weren't going to tell me!" he hissed and Sasuke smirked, slightly triumphant.

"No, I was not." Neji's face twisted.

"Why not?"

"You're a threat," Sasuke said firmly and Neji understood.

"What happened to 'I'm not that interested'?" he asked, watching the group of four joining Sakura and Ino.

"That was before he showed up right in front of me," Sasuke snarled.

"So this is turning into a competition, is it? You and me...for him?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"Are you going after him because I want him or because you do actually want it?" he asked and Neji shrugged.

"Who knows?" Neji said with that gleam in his eye Sasuke so hated.

"That's...that's pathetic, Neji," Sasuke spat. Neji raised his shoulders again infuriatingly.

"So? You have the edge on me by knowing his _name_ but that's all. He's just a boy, Sasuke. Why the attitude?"

"Because you'll do what you always do to him. And I don't want that," Sasuke said, getting up in disgust.

"Why? Isn't that what you're going to do to him?" Sasuke looked at Naruto twirling the end of Sakura's strawberry hair around his finger while she talked. She giggled and swatted him away.

_I really don't know what to do with you._

X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X

Anko Mitarashi had seen just about every kind of person in her office during her relatively short life. There were the type that didn't cry, the ones that broke down hysterically, the ones who said nothing, the ones who told you everything, easy ones to cope with, people with so many problems and traumas you wondered why they hadn't self combusted already.

Then there was Sasuke. Who disturbingly could be all of the above.

But thankfully not at the same time.

"How are you today, Sasuke?" she asked, setting the timer. He shrugged.

"Ok, I guess." Anko sighed, looked at the clock and prepared herself for an hour of grunts, one word answers and teenage angst.

"No, I'm not ok actually. Who the _fuck_ does he think he is?!" Anko was so stunned she forgot to remind him not to swear.

"I don't care if he's supposed to be my friend – and I use that term so loosely it's ridiculous," Sasuke said darkly. "But I'm going to rip his head off and crush him into tiny little pieces!"

Anko had been seeing Sasuke twice a week since he was ten years old. In six years she had only seen him lose it twice before: when his parents announced they would be working abroad for most of the year and leaving him in the care of his elder brother and again when his parents had left and he had used every swear word under the sun to describe his brother.

"Uh, Itachi?" Anko guessed, pen poised to take notes.

"Neji! That no morals, thinks he's better than everyone else bastard!"

"I...ok," Anko struggled for words and attempted to put something smart down on paper. "What...happened?" Sasuke seemed to calm down and put his thoughts into sentences that make sense.

"There's this new guy in my class" and Anko struggled to make the connection from 'transfer student' to killing Neji.

Oh. Think, Anko. Two years ago. Subject unusually withdrawn and anti-social. Her making anxious phone calls to Itachi. Speaking to Kakashi. A lot of guesswork and agonising with what the hell was wrong with the boy before he finally came out with it. Key words: I think I'm...

"So...you like him? This new boy?" Anko congratulated herself when Sasuke nodded.

"Yes...no. I don't know," he said helplessly. "We saw him in town on Friday after school and he...I don't know."

"But you are attracted to him?"Anko checked. A pause and Sasuke nodded again.

"I don't know why though. He's not like...anyone I usually go for...not like anyone else _ever_."

"So where does Neji come into this?" Anko continued in her most soothing counsellor voice.

"Neji's after him too. And I think it's cause I want him, you know? Cause I never usually want anyone. But Neji uses the 'hump them and dump them' routine and I..." Sasuke stopped, not knowing where to go with that.

"But you'd clearly prefer that not to happen? Understandable, if you have feelings for someone, even purely physical ones. So, what do you intend to do about this?" Sasuke slumped in the chair.

"I don't know. Maybe I shouldn't do anything. Maybe he's straight and will be safe from Neji. Though sometimes that hasn't helped them before," he muttered.

"But if not...if he and Neji got involved. Could you stand that?" Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut and imagined it. The jealousy and the knowledge that Naruto would be hurt in the end. Could he really stand by and watch that?

And eventually end up wanting Naruto so badly it drove him mad?

"Sasuke?" Anko gently prodded and the boy stirred out of his thoughts.

"I can't let that happen," he muttered, more to himself than her. "Not to Naruto..." and Anko froze.

_Naruto?_ Surely not...

"Naruto?" she asked.

"Him. Naruto Uzumaki." Anko's heart skipped in her chest. It was him. After all this time. He was here again, in this very school. Since today and in this town for a bit longer probably.

And the new teacher, Iruka was...yes, the same one. That boy's adopted parent. He hadn't recognised her when he'd met her last week. Why should he? They'd interacted so very little all those years ago, as she'd left the picture as he came into it: she herself did not know the past Iruka and this one were the same.

But still. Naruto Uzumaki was here. At sixteen years of age and probably quite attractive now. Enough for Sasuke of all people to fall for him.

Naruto had been such a little boy when she'd seen him. She had seen the beginning, before he totally fell apart, fell into a hole of hatred and promiscuity and dangerous people. When had he dug himself out of it? She presumed he had, Tsunade wouldn't have let him in otherwise.

"Anko? Are you ok?" She looked up to find Sasuke staring at her. She'd gotten too lost in connecting the dots, of what had happened since she'd moved here.

"Yes," she said, flustered. "I'm fine. I, uh...did you say anything?"

"I want..." Sasuke began. "I'm going to do something about Neji," he said firmly. Anko nodded.

"Yes, of course. Uh, you may leave early if you like. We've done well today and I'll see you on Thursday. Please tell me how it's going." Sasuke promised he would and pulled himself up, collecting his bag and blazer.

"Hey, thanks for your help, Anko," he said and left, the door clicking shut behind him. Anko collapsed back in her chair, buried her face in her hands and screamed.

Naruto Uzumaki was here.

Sasuke was crushing on him, badly by the looks of it and at the minute she didn't know whether that would work out or if Neji would get to him first. If Naruto was still as bad as she'd heard he was _Neji_ was the one in danger of being ditched after the one night stand. And that might happen to Sasuke too. That couldn't...she didn't want it to happen.

Furthermore, Sasuke had just thanked her. What was up with the world today?!

X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X

Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru and Chouji all raced out of the main doors, giggling.

"Detention was so worth it for that!" Kiba cackled, doing cartwheels across the car park. Shikamaru followed behind, shaking his head but smiling.

"You're going to pay for that. Ino has unknown depths of cruelty." Naruto couldn't stop laughing, couldn't get the look on Ino's face out of his head.

"She shouldn't have screamed so loudly," Kiba announced. "I wouldn't have gotten busted otherwise."

"I think putting a dead frog on her shoulder was either going to get you put in detention or straight to hell!" Shikamaru said.

"Could have been worse, he could have put it on her head!" Chouji chimed in but Naruto was no longer listening.

Sasuke was exiting the school by another exit, strolling calmly to a dark blue car waiting in a parking space. His face was set, resolute and Naruto wanted to know so badly what about. His hair was slightly rumpled and looked as though Sasuke had been running his fingers through it which made Naruto wish he'd been the one to card his fingers through Sasuke's soft looking black hair. He reached the car and got in the passenger's side, turning to talk to the driver but with the glare from the sun Naruto couldn't make out any features except that it was male.

Then the car was gone. Naruto watched it until it disappeared out of sight, wishing Sasuke had seen him, for their eyes to connect for a second.

"Naruto? What do you think?"

"I..uh. What?"

"Going to town after school tomorrow," Chouji filled him in. "Do something. See a film?" Naruto smiled. Normal things with normal friends. That's what he wanted.

"Sure. That'd be awesome. What's on right now anyway? Cause last time I looked it was all chick flicks and crap..."

"Have you seen Avatar yet?" Kiba asked but Naruto's attention was straying again. A woman hurried out of the same exit as Sasuke had, unbeknownst to her taking the exact same path across the car park.

It was her. Naruto remembered her, just about, having looked at her for several years for an hour each day. She had the same long dark overcoat, short hair and chunky boots. A black bag hung over her shoulder and although she wore what looked like a perfectly professional suit Naruto guessed the shirt was a little too tight and the skirt a little too short.

She got into a red sports car and before she pulled away and after she'd slammed the door shut she stopped and looked directly at Naruto. He could see her mouth forming his name, the expression in her eyes. She knew it was him and it was likely she knew he was here before she actually spotted him.

Naruto felt uneasy, knowing something from his past was here. Not now when his head was filled with trivial things like homework which he'd gotten used to not having or doing, friends, which was an entirely new thing for him and a crush, equally strange on an especially strange boy. Naruto wanted only to think of fractions and whether they should see Avatar or Sherlock Holmes and late at night, guiltily, quietly, lustfully of Sasuke's eyes and Sasuke's scent.

Not this. Not her. Not any of that. Not anymore.

Anko watched Naruto run to catch up to his friends and knew he hadn't expected to see her. Sighing she watched him disappear out of sight and let her fingers touch the large folder next to her. It was old, very thick and had the fading label of _Naruto Uzumaki._


	4. Battle's begun

"Where have you been?" Iruka asked after Naruto had hurtled across the car park. He slammed the door shut, panting.

"Sorry. I walked my friends to the bus stop." Iruka's face changed, suddenly looking delighted.

"That's right! Though Kiba is trouble, Shikamaru and Chouji are both better influences." Naruto discreetly rolled his eyes. Of course Iruka would judge his friends by their permanent records.

"I met Ino and Sakura too...hey, can you believe that I saw them in town on Friday? While you were shopping I got lost and they were the ones I asked for directions!" Iruka smiled as Naruto babbled on.

"Well, it's a good sign. If the rest of the year goes this smoothly I think we'll be fine, don't you, Naruto?" Iruka asked as they pulled out of the car park. Naruto stilled, thinking of Anko. He wouldn't tell Iruka: it looked like Iruka hadn't recognised that it was her. No, leave it for now. It might not even come up.

He hoped.

"Hey, is it ok if later this week I go out with the guys? I'll catch a bus home. We're thinking of seeing a film or something."

"Ok, fine. Keep your phone on you though just in case. And if you get dragged home by the police..."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto said, not sure whether Iruka was being serious or not.

"Have you got any homework?" Iruka asked. Naruto shrugged.

"Read this play my English class is doing. A few chapters of Biology. Not much."

"There's a library near our house, you should go and look for it before dinner."

"Mmm," Naruto agreed absently.

Anything to get out of the house.

X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X

"Kakashi!" Anko shrieked down the line. On the other end of the line Kakashi winced.

"Hello, Anko. Long time no see." It was too. He didn't really talk to her at school except for when she felt one of his students was having a problem. The most infamous time was two years ago when she was frantic that Sasuke was suicidal. Kakashi snickered thinking about it. He _could_ have clued her in to what was happening with Sasuke – God knows it was obvious enough – but it was more fun letting her sweat. Needless to say she hadn't appreciated it.

"We have a problem."

"I don't like the sound of that 'we,' Kakashi said, carrying the phone to the kitchen so he could make coffee.

"Yes, _we_," Anko said through gritted teeth. Kakashi caught on.

"Is it Sasuke again?"

"Yes," Anko said, wondering where to start. "You got a new boy in your class today, right?" Kakashi wondered where she was going with this.

"Yeah. Naruto. Nice kid."

"He's the problem." Kakashi paused in pouring water.

"What do you mean? There was an issue with Ino and a frog but that was Kiba's doing not Naruto's."

"Look," Anko spoke fast. "I used to counsel Naruto, back when he was in a kid's home. Kid had a lot of issues. Things started going downhill but I moved here before any of the really bad stuff happened. While I was there, he'd come home late or skive off school and things like that but after I left he fell in with bad people. Out all night, alcohol, fights, in trouble with the police not to mention the amount of people he slept with." Kakashi tried to match up the kid Anko was talking about with the cheeky, angelic looking blonde that had just joined his class.

"Well, he's different now. Are you convinced he's going to revert or something?"

"That's not the problem. It looks like he's turned over a new leaf and I want to believe it, I do...but..." Anko trailed off. She _did_ want to believe it, really and truly. Naruto had been such a sweet child: but with the circumstances he was in he'd thought that if no one cared about him why should he care if he ended up drunk in a graveyard at night?

But people had cared. _She_ had for sure. He just couldn't see that.

"Anko?" She steeled herself, took a breath.

"It's Sasuke. Sasuke likes him." Kakashi promptly dropped his spoon into his mug.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Anko replied testily. Kakashi attempted to fish the spoon out without dropping the phone or burning his fingers.

"Sasuke? _Our_ Sasuke? Sasuke Uchiha?"

"Yes!" Anko shrieked.

"How's that a problem? Aside from being really weird..." Kakashi added.

"It's not...yet. I'm not really sure how exactly for now but I'll place bets on something happening. Neji from the 6th form is interested too and Sasuke gone all alpha male...something's going to happen, Kakashi. You can't prevent it."

"But we don't know what yet..." Kakashi mused, spooning sugar into his coffee. Lots of it. Anko was silent.

"It's a bit like mixing several very violent, dangerous chemicals together. You know it can't go well."

"The Powerpuff girls were made by adding several dangerous chemicals together. And all things nice."

You really can't find a comeback to that sort of sentence so Anko hung up.

X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X

"Naruto! Time to get up!" Naruto's head went 'what? _AGAIN_?!'

"I got up yesterday. I'll do it tomorrow," he mumbled.

"Naruto!" Iruka appeared in the doorway. "If I'd known what a pain you are about getting up in the mornings I wouldn't have cared so much when you were a school refuser..." Iruka muttered under his breath. Naruto grinned slightly, knowing that wasn't the slightest bit true. Iruka valued school as much as breathing and food.

"Come on, move!" Naruto dove under the covers.

"No! It's cold!" His voice came out muffled. Iruka tugged on the duvet.

"Yeah, well do it quick like a plaster." Tugging on the duvet wasn't working. Naruto was surprisingly strong when he was being stubborn.

"Good dreams...go 'way," Naruto mumbled trying to sleep again. Good dreams that featured Naruto's own personal favourite in a role that was equal to porn star. Yeah, even in Naruto's sleep Sasuke plagued him.

"You're going to have bad dreams for the rest of your life if you don't get up _now!_" Naruto poked his head out to stare sleepily at Iruka. "Dude, lame threat," he yawned.

"Naruto!" Naruto grumpily shoved the duvet away.

"I'm up. Get out so I can change." Iruka glared at him suspiciously before leaving.

"Five minutes before I come back to check and if you're asleep again I'm getting a glass of water!" Groaning Naruto pulled himself up.

"Great. Clothes, teeth...uh. Undies..." Naruto muttered to himself and stopped, remembering the promises he'd made himself last night.

Stay away from Anko.

Don't get in any more trouble. Ever.

Talk to Sasuke.

Actually that last one had made Naruto get sidetracked a little into dirtier thoughts...but the first one was simple. A good step. And if Sasuke really was a bastard then hopefully his crush would just fizzle out.

However cool, aloof and sexily mysterious was another matter and Naruto would want to screw him in a public bathroom.

Not a good plan. Normalcy, remember? A boyfriend. Steady, constant. Admittedly Naruto didn't see Sasuke as the Valentine's day, reliable, loving boyfriend type but Sasuke was what he wanted.

"Naruto!" Naruto realized he'd been standing still, holding his boxers while mentally talking to himself. Snapping out of it he raced to the bathroom.

_Sasuke is what I want_.

"Naruto! _Now!_"

Bugger. Right.

X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X

"Good morning class!" Kakashi greeted them armed with the usual stack of books and a coffee cup. Naruto and the others tried to stop giggling at a joke Chouji had just told.

Sasuke had arrived shortly before Naruto had walked into the classroom. He sat alone at the back, reading. Naruto had stolen one glance and then gone to sit with Kiba and the others. Only Sakura was missing but according to Ino she was stuck in traffic.

"Ow, Ino, that hurts!" Kiba yelped. Ino didn't stop tugging and no one bothered to rescue Kiba.

"You deserve it," Shikamaru said, not even bothering to watch the two fighting.

"She shouldn't be so easy to wind up!" Kiba protested and shrieked as Ino viciously pinched him. "You bitch!"

"You put a dead frog on me!" Ino yelled.

Sasuke had watched them from his seat, not really interested but knowing that this was Naruto's group of friends. He prayed that they could help keep Neji away: Neji had a fairly rocky relationship with his cousin who happened to be friends with that same group. Despite their teasing and fighting the group was extremely close and Sasuke was slightly jealous of that. Naruto has slid right in, like he'd always been there. Sasuke had never had close friends like that, had never cared for it but then again since Naruto had arrived he'd found himself wanting a lot of things he hadn't before.

His attention was moved from the fighting and yells by the door opening and a flash of gold. Naruto was here. Sasuke tried to focus his eyes on his book once more but casually let his vision drift up without moving his head.

Naruto turned his head and looked directly at Sasuke. Sasuke resisted the urge to let his mouth drop open and stare back at him. A few seconds later though Naruto turned away and strolled over to his friends.

"Ha ha, you got decked by a girl!" he could hear Naruto teasing, giving Ino a high five while Kiba clutched his ear.

"Don't take her side!" Kiba yelled. Shortly after this Sakura rushed in, hair tied in pigtails today.

"Am I late?" she asked and the others shook their heads.

"Saw Kakashi talking to Anko not that long ago," Chouji mused and the others stirred at this.

"Anko? Really?"

"God, she's scary. Isn't she kind of old to wear clothes like that?" Kiba said, tipping his chair back. Sasuke's eyes had been watching the group distantly but he looked up sharpish when he saw something of interest.

At Anko's name Naruto had tensed. Really tensed, not just 'what do you mean we have a test next?' tense. His face had withdrawn, all smiles and jokes gone. He sat in his chair frozen, still, unhappy. Sasuke wondered why on Earth Naruto was worried about Anko of all people.

Wait a minute. Anko had acted weirdly yesterday after hearing _Naruto's_ name. Sasuke hadn't paid any attention to it at the time, more focused on his own problems.

Was it possible they knew each other? Considering Anko's job it seemed most likely that Naruto had seen Anko at some point for counselling. But that was nothing to be ashamed of...and why Anko's reaction to Naruto?

It was while Sasuke was thinking this through Kakashi breezed in and shut the door. Everyone scrambled to their seats and Sasuke put his book away, thinking Naruto looked a lot more relaxed now the focus was away from Anko.

"Register...ok, Chouji?" As the class settled into the regular routine Sasuke wondered if he could ask Anko about Naruto. No, that wouldn't work. There were rules for that sort of thing: Anko probably couldn't talk about when she'd counselled Naruto.

But there were ways around it.

"Sasuke?" Kakashi continued.

"Here," Sasuke replied, wanting the days to pass until he could get a hold of Anko. Somehow this intrigued him even more.

Utterly captivated him that Naruto wasn't the same person as he seemed to be on the outside.

"Naruto?"

"Here!" Naruto chirruped. Shortly after Ino announced her presence and Kakashi flipped the register shut.

"Right, you've got a while until first period. Do...whatever," Kakashi said, picking up some marking. Bored, Sasuke picked up his book too. These gaps were unpleasant, where he was unsure of what to do with himself without friends to talk to. People tried, even Sakura and Ino had tried which Sasuke had on some level appreciated but he didn't fit in with them at all.

Some time later the bell rang, startling them all.

"Alright!" Kakashi called over the chaos of chatter and chairs being pushed back. "I'll see you here, usual time for afternoon registration!" The class drifted out in small groups, Sasuke and Naruto's friends being the last out. Naruto had waved his friends on ahead because Kakashi had asked to speak to him.

"Are you doing alright, Naruto?" Kakashi checked. "Was your first day ok?" Naruto nodded. The man's eccentricities aside he genuinely liked his teacher.

"Yeah, it was awesome."

"If you have any problems, talk to me or Iruka. Or even the school counsellor, Anko Mitarashi." Kakashi noticed the same thing Sasuke had: the boy closed up. Anko was telling the truth. Naruto, for some reason, was wary of her. To prevent his friends finding out what had happened before he'd moved here? Possible. Kiba and the others got into trouble occasionally, except for Hinata and Sakura, but he doubted they'd approve of what Naruto had supposedly done.

"I...ok," Naruto said in a tone of voice that made Kakashi doubt that he'd ever go see Anko.

"Good. Off you go then!" Kakashi said cheerfully, making a mental note to abduct Anko for lunch and extract the full story. He'd meant to ask her before but the bitch had hung up on him. He couldn't imagine why.

Naruto hurried to catch up with his class for their first lesson but in the panic of the hallway someone rushed past him and made him drop his bag. Books fanned out across the floor and Naruto cursed not remembering to zip his bag up.

Suddenly a pale hand offered him several textbooks and a note pad.

"Thanks," Naruto muttered, stuffing everything back in, not caring if pages got creased.

"Bastard didn't even stop, did he?" the voice sympathised.

"Tell me about it. Are people always so inconsiderate at this school?" Naruto grumbled before he looked up into the face of his rescuer.

_I've seen you before._

"There. That's all of them, I think," Neji said, handing Naruto a pen and pulling them both up. Naruto took the biro and slid it inside his bag, being careful to do the zip and straps up, not wanting a repeat.

"I'm Neji Hyuuga," the boy continued. He was attractive enough but something seemed off about him. Naruto's skin prickled.

_How do I know you?_

"Naruto. Uzumaki," Naruto said, remembering his name only just in time.

"You're in Kakashi's class? I have a friend in your form," Neji said and Naruto remembered with startling clarity where he had seen Neji before.

_He was with Sasuke._

Jealousy swirled throughout Naruto. The way Neji said 'friend' made his heart hurt. Were Neji and Sasuke together? They'd seemed close enough on Friday and then yesterday Naruto had seen the two having lunch at a secluded table alone. He hadn't really thought of the possibility before.

"Naruto?" Neji asked, confused by the expression on the blonde's face.

"You know Sasuke," Naruto said quietly and then regretted it. Neji raised his eyebrows.

"Yes...has he...mentioned me?"

"I...no," Naruto said, feeling hollow. "On Friday...uh, last Friday I noticed you two in town together. I've only just remembered." Neji took in the blonde's sullen expression and awkward posture and wondered where the sexy bold boy from Friday had gone to.

"Ahem," someone cleared their throat loudly enough for Neji to jump and Naruto to snap out of his malaise only to see the object of his affections standing right in front of them, looking impatient.

"Neji," Sasuke said coolly. Neji smiled slightly.

"Sasuke. You didn't call me last night. I thought you were going to." Sasuke's eye twitched.

_You mean after you announced you were going to steal Naruto from me just for the fun of it? Go shove your phone up your ass!!_

Naruto meanwhile recoiled. The jealousy burned brighter at seeing the two together, both impossibly beautiful.

"I forgot a book from my locker," Sasuke explained, stepping closer to them both. Neji and Sasuke's arms brushed and Naruto couldn't take it anymore.

"I...I have to go..." he said, not daring to look at Sasuke. "I'm gonna be late."

"Of course. Nice to have met you, Naruto," Neji said, watching the blonde appreciatively. Sasuke reached out and touched Neji's arm in a gesture that was a warning but Naruto misunderstood as possessiveness.

However he needed to go down the hall way, past Sasuke., to get to his classroom. Trying to avoid any eye contact for fear he might burst into tears he hurried past them and fled. Neji and Sasuke watched him go.

"Interesting boy," Neji noted. "Even more attractive up close."

"I hate you," Sasuke seethed. Neji shrugged.

"You're gonna be late for class, Sasuke!" he reminded him but Sasuke didn't move.

"Don't think you're having him," Sasuke warned and Neji's grin grew feral.

"That's not your decision to make is it, Sasuke?" he said before turning, clearly bored with this conversation and intent on making it to his own class before the warning bell. Sasuke also hurried down the hall to his own locker but he trod on something solid. A notebook. Stooping to pick it up he noticed the name scrawled messily on the inside cover.

_Naruto Uzumaki._

Sasuke clutched his treasure to his chest and with a smile to himself raced down the hall.


	5. Staying with you

**Anyway, this is the new and improved 'Tangled up in me' with a better plot, better writing and basically more kickass.**

**Lots more changes will be happening to my fics and I've written about what's happening on my profile.**

X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X

Naruto stumbled into History several seconds before the warning bell. The teacher raised an eyebrow but didn't question it, suspecting that as a new student he'd gotten lost.

"Naruto! Over here!" Kiba waved and Naruto wasn't surprised to see all his friends together. Ino and Sakura sat bickering at one end and Kiba gestured to the empty seat next to him at the other. Chouji and Shikamaru were there along with a pretty dark haired girl Naruto had not talked to before. She caught Naruto's eye, blushed and looked away again.

"Do you know anything about World War 2?" Naruto shook his head. He probably should have done it in his last school but it's kind of hard to learn when you don't show up.

He sat down in the chair next to Kiba and pulled out the necessary items. While he was doing that Sasuke walked in.

"Sorry, I forgot my textbook." Kurenai looked at her watch and decided to let him off. She stood up with a flick of her black hair and began scrawling the lesson's objectives on the board.

"Ok, so this term we will be focusing on mostly the World Wars. Can anybody tell me the year the First World War started?"

Sasuke sat on the other side of the room, directly in Naruto's eye line. Naruto had to resist staring.

_Not mine. He's somebody else's. Get over it, _Naruto told himself but everything ached. Why was wanting something you can't have so frustratingly hard to forget about?

Especially when they were in your class and smelt awesome.

"Hey, Naruto!" Sakura hissed. "Are you ok?" And all his friends turned to look at him and Naruto remembered just in time to stop gawking at Sasuke with his mouth open.

"I...yeah. Sorry," Naruto muttered and turned back to copying Kurenai's notes off the board. Looking up again briefly to check he was no longer being watched he caught Shikamaru's eye. Shikamaru was giving him a very strange look before looking significantly over the other side of the room and then back, raising an eyebrow.

Shit.

Naruto blushed and swallowed. No one was paying any attention to them, too intent on taking down the stream of dates Kurenai was reeling off. Shikamaru tilted his head to the side and looked back at Sasuke in a very obvious gesture. Turning back to Naruto he raised an eyebrow again in a questioning sort of way and mouthing 'do you?'

Naruto didn't know what to do. Telling his friends about his sexuality was one thing but his friends as a whole weren't overly fond of Sasuke. Face drastically turning vermillion he slowly nodded. Shikamaru's face didn't change except for his eyes widening slightly. Naruto's face suddenly turned stricken.

_Please don't tell_, he mouthed. Naruto had gone from red to deathly pale in a few moments, worried that it would get out and his friends, the school or even Sasuke himself would find out. After a few moments Shikamaru replied.

_I won't_.

X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X

It took until lunchtime for Naruto and Shikamaru to be alone enough to talk. Chouji and Kiba were getting food and the girls had gone to the bathroom. Left alone at their table in the canteen Naruto knew what was coming.

For a while neither of them spoke, not sure where to start.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Shikamaru asked, watching Kiba getting into a fight with two much larger and older boys in the queue.

"Not really," Naruto muttered, likewise watching the door for the girls' return. "No one was meant to find out. It's a crush, I'll...get over it."

"Ok," Shikamaru shrugged calmly. Up at the front Kiba was being forcibly dragged away by Chouji. "If you say so."

"It is!" Naruto protested. "It's been like a week since I first saw him and..."

"Wait, wait," Shikamaru said, holding his hands up. "A week?" Naruto felt his ears going red.

"On Friday...he was in the centre of town with a friend of his and I sort of got lost when my dad was shopping. And I saw him watching me and...I dunno. I'm a teenager, he's pretty, what more do you want from me?" Shikamaru smirked.

"You're like a blonde version of Kiba," Shikamaru smirked and Naruto growled angrily.

"I don't smell like dog."

"Same horny mess of hormones though," Shikamaru pointed out. There was a silence in which Naruto wondered how long girls could take in the bathroom and if Chouji was determined to buy everything.

"Naruto?"

"Mm?"

"What if it doesn't go away?" Naruto hadn't considered this but there was no time to talk because Kiba threw himself into a seat, complaining loudly and the girls entered through the main doors, giggling.

What if it didn't go away?

What then?

X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X

After school while Naruto and his friends were in the exact same shopping centre Sasuke was – though neither of them knew it – Sasuke sat in a chair at the same cafe he'd seen Naruto first. He was sipping his coffee and trying to ignore the temptation of looking inside the notebook that lay by his elbow.

_It's somebody else's property. Someone's private property. You should return it. Tomorrow. Immediately. _

And yet his fingers reached out and flicked the cover open.

_Oops._

Well, now that it was open he could have a look, right?

Sasuke put down his cup, almost dropping it in his haste to pull the notebook towards him.

The notebook itself was a plain one: orange with lined paper and an elastic band that shut it so loose-leaf papers wouldn't fall out of it. It also looked old or the owner was just really careless with it.

However, the first page had the words _Naruto Uzumaki aged eleven_ scrawled on them and underneath in a column in chronological order were twelve all the way up to fifteen which were striked out and finally the word SIXTEEN in bright red letters.

Sasuke smiled in amusement at how long this notebook had been had and the childish personality of the owner.

He took his time with the rest of the book, musing over cryptic notes and drawings. Most of it he couldn't understand, especially the older stuff – mostly because of Naruto's handwriting and that most of it was in an abbreviated code.

_Midnight, graveyard._

_The sandman is hot!_

_Do you wanna ditch fifth?_

There were too many scribbles and notes and games of hangman. Very few actually made any sense to Sasuke.

But several red flags were starting to go up in Sasuke's mind.

As the notebook went on there were less and less games of hangman and mocking the teachers or other kids and more about midnight and ditching lessons, graveyards and alcohol.

The 'Sandman' turned up a lot too, somebody Naruto talked to a lot. Some of their conversations were...intimate. By the time Naruto was about fourteen Sasuke had to flick past them in rage. The way they sounded...how they talked...what they talked about: it all suggested something Sasuke didn't like the sound of.

They seemed to be a couple.

Sasuke sat back, the notebook still open on the fourteenth year. Were Naruto and this guy still involved? Unlikely, Sasuke decided.

On the plus side Naruto's sexuality didn't seem to be a problem anymore.

However, Neji still was.

With a sigh Sasuke leaned forward again and flipped the page over, determined to read all of it. But to his dismay the tone and themes did not change.

If anything it got worse.

What kind of person had Naruto been before he'd arrived here? Sasuke wondered. How was it possible that the person trapped in this book was vicious and cruel and wild when the person Sasuke had fallen for was cheerful and friendly and confident?

Furthermore, what did Anko know? If the person in the book was the one she'd known then she had a right to be scared.

Sasuke had strayed into Naruto's fifteenth year. The conversations now were entirely between Naruto and this 'Sandman' boy which made Sasuke recoil in disgust. He was about to flip through to the more recent pages when something caught his eye and made his insides twist unpleasantly.

_Love you, Naruto._

But underneath was what hurt, in Naruto's messy scrawl in bright orange pen.

_Love you more._

A shriek of laughter made Sasuke jump. In the back of his head he recognised Ino's cackle and Sakura's giggle and knowing the people that usually accompanied them he slid the notebook into his bag and turned back to his coffee.

Sure enough Kiba strolled out, a friendly arm slung around Hinata. Shikamaru had his hands in his pockets while Chouji clutched a popcorn bag. Naruto was in the middle of them, talking about the film they had just seen. Sasuke's fingers curled around the space where the notebook had been, wondering what kind of person Naruto had fallen in love with.

Shikamaru reached out and tugged Naruto back by the collar of his blazer so the others in front couldn't hear them.

"Hey," he whispered. "Have you seen who's over there?" Naruto turned to look and wished he hadn't.

"Yeah, I know," he replied. Shikamaru nudged him.

"What's wrong?" Shikamaru asked, keeping a careful on their friends.

"Hey...what do you know about Neji Hyuuga?" Shikamaru pressed his lips together tightly at the mention of Neji's name.

"Not much. He's in the year above us. One of those all round good at everything types. Academics, sports, you name it, he can do it. He's just a little...there are some aspects of his personality that aren't...well, very nice. Hinata's his cousin, you know."

"Really?" Naruto looked at the girl giggling at Ino and Kiba fighting, trying to match the sweet if a little too shy, generally lovely girl with Neji.

Nope, total polar opposites.

"I guess they look a little alike but personality wise..." Naruto trailed off.

"Yeah, well, they don't really get along. Neji's father died a while back so Neji moved in with Hinata's family. Shortly after that though things blew up and Neji left again to live with friends of his. Hinata tries to be pleasant but...I don't really want to say this but it seems like he hates her. He hates the whole family."

"Why would he hate her?" Naruto asked, totally confused. Shikamaru shrugged.

"Who knows? Ah!" Shikamaru said suddenly. "He and Sasuke are usually together. That could be a problem." Naruto swallowed hard, twisting his head to look at Sasuke who was unusually intently staring into his coffee.

"Hey! Hurry up, you guys!" Kiba shouted. Naruto and Shikamaru were lagging behind. "Pizza express or McDonalds?" Shikamaru ignored Kiba.

"Look, Naruto, aside from that first day you haven't actually spoken to Sasuke have you?" Naruto shook his head. "So go. Now."

"Now?" Naruto said in surprise.. "But what about Kiba and the others?"

"I'll cover for you. Go on. I've got your number to tell you where we are." Naruto grinned.

"Shikamaru, you are about six different shades of awesome." Shikamaru yawned.

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled. "Now sod off." Grinning, Naruto spun and strolled away. Behind Shikamaru caught up with Kiba and co explaining that Naruto would catch them up and suggesting they get fish and chips instead.

Looking up Sasuke was faced with a tanned midriff and an untucked shirt.

"Hi!" Naruto said. "You're Sasuke, right?" Numbly, Sasuke nodded.

"I...why aren't you going with your friends?" Sasuke licked his lips, wondering where his ability to speak had gone. Naruto without asking pulled out a chair – the only other chair – and sat down.

"I'm not chained to them, am I?" he asked with a smirk. "I can come over here to talk to you if I like."

"You came to talk to...me?"

"Yeah. That's allowed, isn't it?" Naruto snickered. Sasuke nodded slowly.

"Don't your friends mind?" Naruto suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"I'm not chained to them, like I said." Sasuke understood.

"You mean they don't know," Sasuke said bitterly, standing up.

"Hey!" Naruto grabbed hold of his sleeve and tugged him so forcefully Sasuke fell back down again.

"Does that matter?" Naruto said angrily. "I want to talk to you!"

"Are you ashamed of talking to me?" Sasuke angrily replied, pulling his arm out of Naruto's grip.

"I'm not ashamed! Would they care particularly if I talked to you?"

"You seem to think so!" They both stopped, still quietly glaring.

"I should go..." Sasuke said, standing up again. Before he could bend over to pick up his bag Naruto beat him to it, dangling his rucksack out of reach.

"Talk. To. Me!" Naruto said teasingly.

"You were just yelling at me five seconds ago," Sasuke reminded him. "Give me that!"

"Nope! I came to talk to you, so we're going to talk." Naruto tipped his chair back, the bag hanging from a strap by his fingers. His shirt was riding up and watching him smirk, one hand tangled in his blonde hair Sasuke felt a surge of lust.

That's not why he sat back down, Sasuke said to himself.

Yes, he knew it was a lie too.

Naruto grinned and dropped the bag on the floor, underneath his chair where Sasuke couldn't reach.

"So...what did you want to talk about?" Sasuke asked, only half sulkily. Naruto's face shifted.

"You." Naruto smiled when Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise and slightly blushed.

They were startled by a loud burst of music. Laughing sheepishly Naruto hooked out his phone to check the text recently sent by Shikamaru.

_Naruto, we're in Pizza express. Are you done talking to Lover boy yet? S._

Sasuke watched Naruto's eyes flick over the text and, smiling a little, frantically key in a reply.

"I suppose you'll be leaving now?" Sasuke asked reluctantly. So far all he'd done was argue with the blonde but he didn't want him to leave just yet. Not to mention the worries about Neji and Naruto's previous boyfriend and personality were swirling around in his head, for some reason, making him nervous.

"Nah!" Naruto said, finishing off his text and flicking the phone shut. He reached down and dumped Sasuke's bag on the table. To Sasuke's confused gaze he smiled and shifted his chair closer. "I'm staying with you."

_Sorry. I'm ditching you for Lover boy. XD Make up some excuse for me, right? N._

In Pizza express Shikamaru grinned to himself as he read the newly sent message and quietly rolled his eyes.

He'd known exactly what would happen and had told their friends that Naruto had had to leave fifteen minutes before.


	6. Out of my life

Naruto's sexual experiences were varied, legendary and if you were to write them all down they'd fill quite a few sheets of A4 paper. Front _and_ back. They went from brief encounters in public restrooms to open relationships, make out sessions in the graveyard and casual flirtations with strangers met...well, anywhere. Naruto got a kick out of the pleasure and the fact that whatever and however brief the relationship was he was going to get a good time out of it and that he would never – even though they weren't always aware of it - have to see his partner again.

But having coffee with Sasuke in a public place terrified Naruto so much he had to wipe his clammy hands on his trousers several times. Thankfully Sasuke was in the queue getting said coffees right now so that Naruto had a few moments to compose himself. Which really meant berate himself. He knew everything about sex and not making too much noise when you happened to be in a bathroom stall with your pants around your ankles (and your partner in pretty much the same...lower region.) He knew all of that but now he was cursing the fact that he had no idea how to deal with actual relationships. To make it even worse, Naruto was having trouble finding a point of reference. Iruka had had no significant relationships while Naruto was growing up and films Naruto saw usually had more blood and explosions in than romance.

"Here," Sasuke said, placing a cup in front of Naruto. Naruto nodded his thanks and reached out to pull it towards him. Sasuke put his own cup down and sat gracefully. Naruto under the pretence of blowing on his coffee to cool it, sneakily watched his every movement: the silent huff of air as he sat, the way his hair fell into his eyes as he edged his chair in, the elegance of Sasuke's long fingers wrapping around the cup, appreciating it's warmth. Naruto hurriedly averted his eyes before Sasuke caught him staring.

"So..." Sasuke said calmly.

"So...?" Naruto repeated nervously. They were interrupted by the sudden shriek of a phone. Sasuke sighed, gave Naruto a 'sorry' look and reached down to fish it out of his bag.

"Hello?" he asked while Naruto selected several packets of sugar to rip open and pour into his cup. He stirred it moodily while Sasuke talked.

"I'm...at the library," Sasuke said stiffly which made Naruto look up in surprise. Why was Sasuke lying?

"No, don't bother." Sasuke's tone was clipped, cold. "I'll see you tomorrow. Yes. Yes. Look, Neji, I really can't talk right now. I have to go." Sasuke abruptly hung up the phone and Naruto, whose stomach had twisted itself into a knot at the mention of Neji's name, tentatively asked "What did Neji want?" Sasuke shrugged.

"It's not important," he said, tossing his phone onto the table. "We're not exactly on good terms right now anyway."

"Lovers' quarrel?" Naruto joked awkwardly. Sasuke looked up with a glimmer of laughter in his eyes and leaned across the table.

"Naruto, Neji isn't my boyfriend," he said, mouth twitching. The knot rapidly untangled itself into marshmallows and rainbows and other girly chick flick type things.

"Really?" Naruto asked gleefully. Sasuke smiled at his reaction. Naruto had jumped to a wrong conclusion but it seemed to have had a good outcome. Naruto was interested in him after all.

"Yeah. He's just a friend of mine. And not a close one at that," Sasuke said grumpily. Naruto struggled to wipe the grin off his face and then had a very upsetting thought.

"So...do you have a boyfriend? Girlfriend?" he asked as casually as possible but actually being as blunt as a brick wall.

"No, I don't. And it'd be boyfriend if it was going to be anything." Sasuke sensed an opportunity to probe. "What about you? Did you have...anyone back where you used to live?" Naruto bit the inside of his lip. He didn't want to tell Sasuke the whole sordid tale of his lifestyle and conquests but he didn't want to lie either. So he answered with something almost the truth: the closest thing he'd had to a boyfriend.

"A few, not serious. There was this one guy but we weren't...you know. We were friends and the lines got fuzzy. That's all," Naruto said. Despite what he was saying was true it was still vague enough to send slices of guilt cutting through his body. A few? Hah. But recalling the last bit made Naruto uncomfortable. This was too close to his past life, when he'd been somebody different. Thinking about _him_ would just bring back bad memories. Focus on Sasuke. Who was here and a decent person and who actually seemed kind of into him.

"Oh?" Sasuke's head spun with jealousy and curiosity. Curiosity won out. "So are you...?"

"Gay? Yeah. I haven't kissed a girl since I was ten." Naruto shrugged and Sasuke inwardly squirmed. He hadn't kissed a girl ever – thank God – and he'd only ever kissed the one guy, his first and only kiss.

"So, um..." Sasuke cleared his throat awkwardly. "Have you ever been in love?"

It was Naruto's turn to squirm. He'd liked most of his partners, sure. But love was something he'd never given a second thought to before.

"No, I haven't."

"Me either," Sasuke confessed and they grinned at each, both aware that this was more than two guys having a conversation but unwilling to be the first to make a move.

_I love you, Naruto._

_Love you more._

Guiltily Sasuke remembered the words that had been imprinted in his brain since he had read them. What had they been then? Superficial? Had Naruto not meant them when he'd said them previously? This gave Sasuke a flicker of hope but the tiny black pit in his stomach reminded him that Naruto _had_ indeed said them.

Sasuke wanted Naruto to say those words to him.

Naruto cleared his throat suddenly and Sasuke realised that they'd both finished their coffees. He hurriedly wracked his brain for something to say when Naruto looked at him apologetically.

"Hey, I've got to go. I promised my dad I'd get home by six. But...um..." Naruto struggled to find the appropriate words: ones that didn't begin with 'You and me baby, ain't nothing but mammals...'

See, now he'd have that song in his head for ages.

"Maybe you'd like to do something with me. Sometime. Like a film or..." Naruto, a total novice at actually asking someone else out, trailed off, feeling pathetic. But Sasuke nodded.

"Sure. Do you want my number?" Sasuke asked, leaning down to grab his phone but Naruto beat him to it, digging out a pen and grabbing Sasuke's hand. Both felt the charge as their fingers brushed but didn't let it register. Naruto rapidly scrawled his mobile number on Sasuke's hand in black biro and then recapped it, grinning widely.

"Call me!" he chirruped, simultaneously pulling his backpack over his shoulders and pushing the chair in with his hip. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

Sasuke sat, stunned, as Naruto wove through the crowd and out of sight. He then looked down at the messy series of digits on his hand and then up again and slowly a grin broke across his face.

_Suck it, Neji._

X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X

"Well?" Shikamaru asked in a low voice when Naruto arrived the next morning.

"Well, what?" Naruto asked, still sleepy, half nervous and trying frantically to remember if he had everything.

"How'd it go?" Kiba and the others weren't paying any attention to them. They'd found a bouncy ball in Kakashi's drawer of confiscated stuff and most of the class was currently watching it ricochet off the walls, whooping every time it got dangerously close to breaking something.

"You. And Sasuke. How'd it go?" Shikamaru gently prodded. Naruto shook himself awake and smiled a little bit.

"It was...good." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

"Is that all the details I get?" he asked sceptically. "I keep your secret for you, I cover for you...and that's it?" Naruto smirked.

"Yeah, pretty much," he said and then got distracted by Sasuke entering the room. Sasuke's eyes sought his immediately and there was a pause where they stared at each other. The ball whizzed past Naruto's nose and he jumped back with a yelp while the rest of the class cheered.

"Damn," Naruto hissed, rubbing the tip of his nose while Sasuke wove his way to the back of the classroom. Shikamaru just eyed them both in disgust. "God, it's like a soap opera love story in here. And I helped!" he groaned.

"He hasn't called me yet," Naruto reminded him.

"He will," Shikamaru remarked. "Ugh, the look in his eyes." That sentence made Naruto remember Neji with a shudder.

Kakashi walked through the door and neatly grabbed the ball out of the air with one hand. There was a stunned silence and then a frantic flurry of movement as everyone raced back to their seats.

"Dude has ninja skills," Naruto whispered. Kiba nodded.

"Sneaks around like one too."

"Good morning, class..."

The day began and Naruto put any thought other than homework out of his head.

X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X

"You were right." Anko paused and looked up at Kakashi.

"I was? About what?" she asked before adding milk and sugar to her coffee.

"Naruto," Kakashi said in hushed tones. Anko stirred thoughtfully.

"You spoke to him?"

"Briefly," Kakashi said, leaning against the counter next to her. "He jumped about a mile high when I mentioned your name."

"But?" Anko sensed his hesitation.

"But...I don't think he'll be any trouble. He's changed, Anko. Aside from any trouble there may be with Sasuke and Neji I don't think he'll revert. He's away from the people he used to hang around with...maybe with better influences he has a better chance of keeping his nose clean."

"I hoped that was the case," Anko sighed. "But what about Neji and Sasuke?"

"You see Sasuke tomorrow, don't you? Speak to him then. He said he wanted to do something about it, maybe he has. Then we don't need to worry." Kakashi paused and wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Ugh, we. Why are we talking like they're our children?"

"In a strange way they are," Anko sad, totally deadpan. Kakashi had watched Sasuke for so long and she, Naruto, then Sasuke as well. The two boys had so little by way of family maybe they felt responsible for the two.

"Well, let me know how it goes," Kakashi said and then excused himself. Anko watched him weave his way across the teacher's lounge and out of the door. Truth be told she was a little bit nervous. She knew that Naruto probably didn't intend to cause anyone harm but somehow bad luck followed that boy wherever he went.

If Naruto was here, surely misfortune would follow.

The question was, Anko mused, what scandal would shake their lives _this_ time?

X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X

Naruto was nervous. It happened rarely but this time he couldn't sit still. Iruka noticed his adopted son fidgeting in the passenger seat but didn't question it. He would have heard if Naruto had done something bad at school so he wasn't worried that Naruto was gearing himself up to tell Iruka that he was in trouble again. No, it must be something more...personal.

"What happened at school today?" Iruka asked casually. Naruto shrugged.

"Not much. Nothing actually," he replied in a monotone. Iruka frowned. Naruto not paying much attention to school was usual but for the last few days he'd come home bubbling with stories about his new friends. This mood was downright odd.

"Is that all? How are your friends?"

"Fine."

"Are you coping with the work alright?" Yes, that was a pathetic shot but Iruka was desperate.

"Yeah, it's ok." Naruto was staring out of the window but he had one hand resting on the bulge in his pocket. After a few glances Iruka worked out it was the familiar shape of a phone. The fact that Naruto kept looking down every few minutes was a giveaway too.

"Are you waiting for someone to call?" This had an affect though not the desired one. Naruto jumped like someone had passed him a hot potato.

"No! Why would you think that?" he said defensively. Iruka smiled slightly. Oh, so it was that kind of call. Cute.

"Someone you like?" Naruto realised he'd been busted and slunk back down into his seat.

"Yeah..." he mumbled. "Do I have to talk about this with you? It's kind of embarrassing." Iruka rolled his eyes.

"Naruto, after the past few years surely you'd be used to this by now. Remember that time you got dragged home by the police for indecent exposure?" Naruto's mouth twitched slightly.

"It's not like we were doing much, homophobic old hag..." he said quietly.

"It's probably the fact that you were doing it on a public bench," Iruka said. Naruto's mouth twitched a little more and stretched into a wicked grin.

"You nearly gave that old lady a heart attack," Iruka said reproachfully. There was a silence, both lost in thought. Naruto slid a hand into his pocket and rubbed his phone like it was a lucky charm. His thoughts were more based on the present but it seemed Iruka's had flickered back to their not so pleasant past.

"Naruto?" Iruka asked hesitantly. "Do you ever miss it?"

"Miss what?" Naruto asked absently. Iruka changed gear while he searched for the right words.

"Where we used to live. _How_ you used to live. Your friends..." Naruto abruptly cut him off.

"No. At the time, if you'd said to me in a few years I'd be going to school and have friends – real friends – and actually be interested in...someone then I'd laugh in your face. But this isn't so bad. Normal."

"Not boring?" Iruka checked. Naruto immediately thought of Sasuke and the emotions that his dark hair and long fingers brought to Naruto's mind.

"No. Not boring."

"Don't you ever think about Gaa-"

"No. Not once. He's out of my life," said Naruto suddenly fierce. "I cared about him a lot, sure, but what he did..." Naruto trailed off and raised a hand to his face. Iruka saw his fingers gently brush his cheeks and his eyes get lost somewhere else: back to that night. The worst night of Iruka's life...and Naruto's.

They pulled into their driveway in regretful silence. The gut feeling in Naruto's stomach stirred uneasily but he ignored it. Not again. It couldn't start again.

"He's out of my life," Naruto repeated softly, a prophecy that would not come true.

What Naruto didn't know was that he was wrong and Anko was right. Someone was still thinking of him and _that_ would cause trouble for everybody.

X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X

Look! Sen's still alive!

I'm very sorry but exams, coursework and redecorating got in the way majorly and then I had to go to the doctor's. Not fun. I can't do much today cause my pills are making me woozy so I finished this for you.

I'm also sorry if I didn't reply to any reviews. I love them so much and talking to you all about it but like I said, life rape-age. The downfall of any author.

I hope it's ok. Aside from a hint of foreshadowing I feel it's kind of...filler-ish? Tell me what you think. I'm focusing on this and Agony for a while. Falling rewrite still going nowhere and same for Lies. There's a one-shot hopefully arriving soon though. ^^


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